BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Forecasted to Post FY2025 Earnings of $2.26 Per Share

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Analysts at National Bank Financial upped their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for BCE in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, September 18th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $2.26 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $2.15. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.20 per share.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. BCE had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 17.10%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on BCE. Cibc World Mkts raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.67.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $35.15 on Monday. BCE has a 52 week low of $31.13 and a 52 week high of $41.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $34.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.77. The company has a market cap of $32.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of BCE by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $178,677,000 after buying an additional 1,061,488 shares in the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,183,000. &PARTNERS acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the second quarter valued at approximately $298,000. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of BCE by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 862,951 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,983,000 after purchasing an additional 212,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its position in shares of BCE by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 14,007,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $551,505,000 after purchasing an additional 2,217,262 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.729 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.30%. BCE’s payout ratio is 204.86%.

BCE Company Profile

BCE Inc, a communications company, provides wireless, wireline, Internet, and television (TV) services to residential, business, and wholesale customers in Canada. The company operates through two segments, Bell Communication and Technology Services, and Bell Media. The Bell Communication and Technology Services segment provides wireless products and services including mobile data and voice plans and devices; wireline products and services comprising data, including internet access, internet protocol television, cloud-based services, and business solutions, as well as voice, and other communication services and products; and satellite TV and connectivity services for residential, small and medium-sized business, government, and large enterprise customers.